Month: May 2013

Madonna has confirmed her participation as presenter in ‘The Sound of Change Live’ concert, presented by CHIME FOR CHANGE. Recently founded by Gucci, the organization hosts campaigns for improved Education, Health and Justice for women and girls worldwide. The four-hour concert, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 1 June, is supported by an impressive line-up of world-class artists and internationally renowned presenters, lending their voices to CHIME FOR CHANGE.

Madonna said, “60 percent of the children in the world NOT in school, are girls! 2/3 of the world’s illiterate are WOMEN! I Do NOT accept this. We need to change this and we WILL CHANGE THIS!”

The concert will start at 5.30pm and finish at 10:00pm and each artist will perform special sets with some exciting collaborations expected. Throughout the concert short films will be shown highlighting issues such as: 60% of children not in school are girls, 800 women die daily in pregnancy or childbirth – most of whom would live with access to proper care, and despite gains, just 21% of seats in national parliaments are held by women.

After six months on the market, Madonna has sold her 6,000-square-foot Central Park West pad to hedge fund manager Deepak Narula for well under the $19.995 million asking price, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The apartment had initially been listed for $23.5 million, a figure that was lowered months later. The final sale price was not disclosed, but it was “considerably less” than it was listed for, according to the WSJ.
The apartment, which Madonna had owned for years, has six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and 110 feet of Central Park frontage. It was once featured in a spread in Architectural Digest and we can see why: The simple decor was done by her younger brother Christopher G. Ciccone.
The apartment is in a co-op that was built in 1907, and has 10’3″ foot ceilings, a library, and five wood-burning fireplaces.

After Madonna accepted her Top Touring Artist prize at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, the superstar sat down exclusively with “Extra’s” Jerry Penacoli, and opened up about her family, her Met Gala photo with Kim Kardashian and her feud with Elton John.

Last week, I noticed that Huey Lewis and the News were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their album “Sports.” This got me thinking of all the other musical milestones from the year 1983, and once I started investigating, I was impressed.

Bon Jovi formed in 1983. So did Megadeth, the Flaming Lips, and Phish. Metallica released its first album in 1983, as did R.E.M., Pulp, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Michael Jackson electrified the world with his moonwalk at the Motown Records 25th Anniversary TV special. Of them all, however, the event with the most enduring cultural impact may have come on July 27, 1983. On that day, Sire Records released Madonna’s self-titled debut album. It opened in 123rd place on the “Billboard” album chart – can you imagine? One year later, Madonna was the hottest new star in the world and the album hit number eight.

A hard-charger from Bay City, Michigan, Madonna Ciccone started as a dance club favorite and ended up becoming the template for all subsequent female stars. Outrageous costumes – or lack of them…controversial pronouncements to the press…constant reinvention: Madonna showed us how stardom would look in the video age. It’s all there on display in the clip for her breakout single, “Lucky Star.”

Madonna’s been a star for 29 of the past 30 years. You can read all about her here,but what I find especially intriguing is, why her? Was it her insatiable drive to be a star? A need to be loved? Natural charisma? All of them, perhaps, and more. Like many artists of her generation, Madonna has lost ground on the domestic music charts.

As of December, her most recent album “MDNA” had barely edged the half-million seller mark here in the United States (although I should note it did reach number one in more than 40 countries). Madonna’s real strength lies in her live presence. Her MDNA Tour brought in more than 305 million dollars, becoming the year’s top grossing tour – and, in the process, making her a billionaire.

At age 54, Madonna’s seen it all, done it all, and remains the moving target her competitors still seek to match.

After Madonna accepted her Top Touring Artist prize at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, the superstar sat down exclusively with “Extra’s” Jerry Penacoli, and opened up about her family, her Met Gala photo with Kim Kardashian and her feud with Elton John.

Rocking a bodysuit and thigh-high tights, Madonna talked with Penacoli about her “MDNA” tour and working with her children, Lourdes, 16, and Rocco, 12. “It was great to have a working family… to me that’s my idea of fun, to be creative, to do what I love to do and see my kids working around me and earning their way in life. My daughter worked in the costume department and she loved it. My son was in the show, and he loved it.”

Madonna explained how she juggles raising her four children, including son David Banda and daughter Mercy James, both 8. “I try to find the right balance between being there for them and guiding them and also being an artist. I’m trying to find enough time in the day to do those jobs well.”

The mom continued, “I try to be very clear with them. This is my persona for work. What we aspire to do is to work and to be good people. If you don’t have those two things, fame is nothing, so I try to drill that into their heads.”

Madonna also loves fashion and told Jerry that when she posed with Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala it was the second time she had met the reality TV star. “I met her years and years ago when she was a little girl, believe it or not. She told me she was a huge fan of mine, and it was during the time I was wearing all of the rubber bracelets on my arms. I took off all of the bracelets and gave them to her and then I completely forgot about it. She reminded me when I saw her the other night. Now she’s a pregnant lady!”

As for her infamous feud with Elton John, John recently confirmed to “Extra” the two made up. Madonna confirmed the reconciliation at a restaurant in Nice, France. “After we kissed and hugged, he paid for my dinner, as he should.”

For those who did not catch Madonna’s “MDNA” tour in person, a TV special will air June 22 on the Epix movie channel. She also announced to Penacoli that the tour special is being released on DVD and Blu-ray in September.